Washington is America’s No. 1 state to make a living: Forbes

Washington is No. 1 on Forbes magazine’s annual list of “Best States to Make a Living.” The state is applauded for its wages and work environment. .

Washington is the “No. 1 Best State to Make a Living” according to Forbes Magazine, a rank that the state enjoyed in last year’s survey.

A picture of Mt. Rainier’s north face and the Emmons Glacier decorates Forbes’ rating.

Forbes is conservative in its politics — its publisher Steve Forbes ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000 — but has consistently ranked liberal Washington at or near the top of its lists. The ranking is compiled using Bureau of Labor Statistics figures as well as the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

“Though the Evergreen State recorded slightly below-average marks for cost of living and unemployment, strong performances with regard to wages, state taxes and work environment kept Washington on top again,” Forbes reported Monday.

Texas ranks No. 2 on Forbes’ list, based on state taxes (low) and cost of living, while Minnesota has moved into the No. 3 position — it was No. 6 last year — based on “low employment and a high work environment score.” Colorado is No. 4 , followed by Utah.

Booming North Dakota, which sends its oil our way, is No. 6. Virginia, Nevada, Oklahoma and Nebraska round out the top ten.

Hawaii is ranked as the “No. 1 Worst State to Make a Living” largely due to a cost of living that stands at 157 percent of the national average. It is followed by New York, faulted for its “sky high cost of living and high income taxes.” Mississippi is No. 3, a rating earned by low wages and high unemployment.

Rhode Island and Connecticut make the worst-state list due to their high cost of living, while Alabama, Arkansas and South Carolina are on the list because of unusually low wages and unusually high unemployment. Alaska and New Jersey, two expensive places to live, are on the “Worst” list.

A trio of states — Vermont, South Dakota and West Virginia — escaped Forbes’ worst-state list this year.

West Virginia must, however, live with its ranking as No. 50 of the 50 states in the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index. According to that list, North Dakota is America’s happiest state.